A Tribute to Art Laboe
Los Angeles showed so much love for Art Laboe this past Saturday during our triumphant tribute show presented by dublab and Hello Stranger. CalPlaza was filled with music lovers who cheered and danced to a plethora of classic soul songs, often introduced by the DJs via heartwarming pre-recorded dedications.
Legendary soul artists from the 70s and 80s like Norman Carter and Rocky Padilla dazzled crowds alongside the next generation of soul stars like Aaron Frazier, Irene Diaz and Diamond Ortiz, but without question the real stars of the show was the audience itself...
Over 5,000 Angelenos showed up to celebrate in peace and unity out of love and reverence for Art Laboe. The crowd was multi-racial and multi-generational, with the Latino community in particular showing up en masse for Art. Many were dressed to the nines.
Saturday's show was East Side culture. It was Chicano culture. It was Low Riders and Cholo styles. It was zoot suits. It was hoop earrings and Old English font tats.
It was b-boys and pop-lockers getting down to DJ Spiñorita's electro funk set.
It was folks who've been fly their whole lives and knew it. It was glorious.
It was Los Angeles.
Revisit the night here:
Event photos on our Facebook page (pics by Sandy Altamirano)
Performance videos on YouTube